Lisbon Visitor #1 Hath Arrived!

Bom Dia from the Wandering Berkmans!

Can one really eat too much jamon serrano, or as it's known in lovely Lisboa, presunto serrano? (Sorry, Budd, Kris and Christina...)

Lisboa has been very, very good to us as of day 14.  Here's our Airbnb in the Intendente section of the city.  It's a beautiful older building with a modern apartment within.  Most mornings, I catch Don combing his hair on our balcony, watching the world go by.


Not only tourists take the local trams so we took the #28 to see more of the city and ended up by the river for dinner with a view. 

#NTS (Not Too Shabby)

And based on my picture roll, it seems we've only walked, eaten and drank since arriving here.  

pasteis de nata e porto-- a nice way to take in an afternoon

catching the Superbowl at midnight in a local bar

the aforementioned presunto

uma BICA (espresso) in the Jardim do Estrela (don't call it a Bico, which means something entirely different, much to the consternation of our waiter when I said it.  Points to the reader who finds out the slang definition)

A local place that only serves one dish- arroz de marisco

Our stay has been made that much more special with the arrival of Child 1 less than a week after we arrived ourselves.  Just enough time to slog off the jet lag (melatonin pills are saving us), find the local grocery store,

stock up on above mentioned presunto and port (we Wandering Berkmans pride ourselves in zelig-ing as much as possible and if that means a spot of port at the end of most nights, we can do nothing but comply) and plan some day trips.

here is Don with our newly-purchased grocery cart heading for the Pingo Doce for the staples, Go Natural for the organic

Zach's list of travel to-do's always includes food but we were surprised to find this one quite short-- clams (ameijoas) and pork with clams (porco e ameijoas), maybe because this isn't his first Portugal go-around.  The "to visit" list was longer and included a visit to Nazaré to see some mighty big waves.  More on that later.

Jet lag be damned, Zach's first dinner had us traipsing up and up and up hills until we ended up at a small cafe for tapas and a sweet view of the Martim Moniz part of the city with the Rio Tejo (Tagus) beyond.

The bright spot to the left of the bridge is the statue of Jesus with arms outstretched, like the one in Rio de Janeiro.

The meal and the view were worth the 58 flights on our Fitbit.   And it afforded us the opportunity to slide down a bannister or two on the way home.  An elderly lady watching us from her apartment window gave us a thumbs up.

Zach fit in with our routine just fine--

the view of Lisbon from Castelo Sao Jorge

Zach even managed to get Don to a restaurant with Mozambique food and Don couldn't get enough of the frango a zambeziana he ordered.  Words we never thought we'd hear from Don later that night (and those of you who know Don should be shocked as well) -- "Ahhhhhh that Mozambique chicken was soooo goooood..."  http://cantinhodoaziz.com/



But it wasn't all food and drink.  See us in exactly the same position in almost every picture as we took in the sights--

Placa de Comercio

Torre de Belem, from 1519 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel%C3%A9m_Tower

 

 Quinta de Regaliera in Sintra, the summer home and gardens of a rich intellectual in the 20th century, which included an amazing Poço Iniciático, a well where Masonic initiation rites took place

 Monasterio Jeronimos from 1495

A visit to Nazaré was high on Zach's list when he found out there would be record-setting waves while he was here.  We caught an impressive tow surfing competition  https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/champions-crowned-at-the-2020-nazare-tow-surfing-challenge

A short stop in the medieval town of Óbidos made for many Instagram-worthy pics of the wall and castle.  We later found out Óbidos was once a port town before tsunamis and earthquakes moved the coastline ten kilometers out. 

 

No visit to Lisbon is complete without music-- 

We took Zach to Clube do Fado to relive an amazing Fado experience we had there 4 years ago with an expressive guitar player.  Alas, he wasn't there but we heard some beautiful Fado from 3 singers.   We walked out singing the surprisingly peppy Fado tune "Canto O Fado", a song the crowd knew and sang along.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WGTENlPlt8

And we got our fill of Diva music (can you ever really get your fill??) at the Drag Brunch in the LX Factory.  To say we had fun is an understatement.  To say I may have ended up on stage by my own accord may also be an understatement.  https://www.dragtaste.com/sundaydragbrunch

   

Not to say this visit was all play and no work-- Zach brought along all he needed to conduct 3 days of his VIP Kids english classes.    Classes are especially in demand now because the Corona Virus is keeping many schools in China closed and parents are looking for classes to keep their kids occupied. And because Zach does a great job teaching those kids! (shameless mom plug here).  

Z also did his part for the primaries and sent emails to Bernie supporters (Jules is doing the same from WA). 

Obrigado/a Zach for a wonderful stay-- "Até logo!" (see you later!)!   Now we catch up in wait for our next visitors, Laura (my sister) and then Christine (a friend from college) in the coming weeks.  And Julia in March!  Until then-- Don, por favor-- uma BICA! Obrigada!

Thanks for following along!

Don and Monica

ps-- this post's SOL-- 

this little old lady boarded the #28 tram with us but instead of taking a seat, she stood next to the young driver, chatting with her for the 20 minute ride in a way that made it seem this was their regular routine. So cute

 

portugal